


Blinking in the Morning Sun

by Constellatius



Series: Soulmates [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Birthday Cake, Dean's Birthday, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Happy Winchesters, Kid Dean Winchester, Kid Sam Winchester, Light Angst, M/M, Moving Tattoo(s), Pet Store, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Uncle Bobby, puppy!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-29 07:10:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3887026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Constellatius/pseuds/Constellatius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean’s tattoo appears three days before his sixth birthday. It itches as it comes through, little patches of blue swirling on his wrist. Dean scratches it obsessively, hoping the words will emerge quicker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blinking in the Morning Sun

**Author's Note:**

> *Rocks up 15 minutes late with Starbucks*. Am I too late for the soulmate au's?

Dean’s tattoo appears three days before his sixth birthday. It itches as it comes through, little patches of blue swirling on his wrist. Dean scratches it obsessively, hoping the words will emerge quicker. His dad snatches away his hand, holding it tightly in his grip. He huffs as he sees the shades of blue on his wrist.

John casts worried looks into the rear view mirror of the Impala but says nothing as Dean plays with a fussy Sam. He drops them off at Bobby’s, leaving them behind in a squeal of rubber and dust. Dean blinks the dust out of his eyes, bouncing Sam on his hip. He finally stops fussing as he takes in the salvage yard, gurgling happily, screaming ‘unca, unca’. A puppy comes running up to Sam, he screams happily, burying his face in golden fur.

Bobby follows soon after. He sighs, a sadness in his eyes that makes Dean want to hug him. He wraps his little arms around Bobby’s legs. Smiling as he feels Bobby’s fingers ruffle through his blond hair. Sammy is too involved with the puppy, chasing her around in a circle. Dean catches a glimpse of Sam’s tattoo, tucked behind his ear, the writing is green and in a childish scrawl. Dean had been jealous, thinking he was broken, that he would never find his soul mate. He glances at his wrist, tugging his shirt’s sleeve to cover the blotches.

They settle down to dinner at half six. Sammy feeds the puppy under the table as Dean pushes his vegetables around the plate. He quickly stuffs a piece of broccoli into his mouth when Bobby raises an eyebrow. He grins around the greens.

When Dean shows Bobby his tattoo, his uncle smiles turning Dean’s wrist to the ceiling. He pulls back his sleeve showing Dean his own mark. It is faded and scratched, the writing is messy and a little old fashioned. Dean tentatively reaches out to touch the blue/grey words.

Smiling sadly, Bobby drops his wrist, reaching up to the medicine cabinet to get a tub of cocoa butter. He shows Dean how to apply it, gently rubbing circles over his itchy skin. He ruffles Dean’s hair again, leading him into the library. Dean flops on the floor with a book of old fairy tales resting on his crossed legs.

\------------------------------------------

The first letter is branded onto his skin when he wakes up in the morning. A cursive C curls over a collection of freckles, he stays in bed a little longer, tracing the letter with chubby fingers. Dean clenches his eyes shut wishing and hoping that the next letter will appear.

He opens his eyes one at a time, peeking through his lashes to look at his wrist. A whine bubbles up in the back of his throat as he sees the blue still swirling around. The C throbs repetitively, pulsing vibrant colours through the lines. It aches slightly as Dean tugs his sleeve down, covering the letter. 

Dean helps Sammy from his bed, brushing back his hair. Sam smiles at him, toothy and full of wonder, he wraps his pudgy arms around Dean, placing a wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek.  
They wonder downstairs, Sam clinging to Dean, he chatters about the new puppy. Bobby has named her Whiskey but Sam has decided to rename her. She comes bounding up to him as he cries out her new name.

‘Jess. Jessy!’ He buries his face into her fur, flopping on the floor and fussing over her. Dean steps over the puppy and his brother ignoring the childish screams of happiness. Sam names everything Jess. Since the name appeared behind his ear, he is enamoured with it.

Dean checks his wrist again, hoping more letters would have been revealed.

‘Stop messing with it boy,’ Bobby growls, his head still buried in the cupboard. His voice softens as he speaks ‘It will happen, just give it some time.’  
He nods, sliding into a cricket old chair. Dean greedily pours himself a bowl of cereal and milk. He flicks through the pile of magazines resting on the table. He spots a huge chocolate cake, his mouth watering at the sight of triple fudge icing and chocolate ganache.

Sam climbs over the chair, slipping twice before Dean reaches over and tugs him up by his collar. ‘Cake!’ Sam screams, poking the page with dirty chubby fingers. ‘Cake, cake, cake.’ He shouts.

‘Sam, inside voice,’ Bobby chastises. Sam apologises, quietly whispering ’cake’ under his breath. Dean shares his bowl with him, making airplane noises as Sam greedily gobbles up the sugary flakes.

‘Say it’s someone’s birthday soon isn’t it?’ Bobby teases with a smirk. ‘Is it yours Sam?’ Bobby asks poking his nose. Sam giggles, shaking his head exaggeratedly. ‘Is it Whiskey’s birthday?’ He asks as she places her paws on the table, tail hitting the chair over and over again.

‘Jess!’ Sam corrects with a bitchface. Bobby rolls his eyes.

‘If it isn’t Jess’s birthday then it must be mine.’ Bobby says, placing his hand on his chest. ‘Is it my birthday?’

‘Dean! Dean’s bir’day.’ Sammy shouts, milk dribbling down his chin.

‘No it can’t be Dean’s birthday, I’m sure he had one last year.’ Bobby winks at him, chuckling as Sammy bangs his fists against the table.

‘It is unca Bobby! It’s Dean’s bir’day.

‘Do I really get a cake this year? Dad said we didn’t have enough money for anything.’ He asks cutting off the gentle teasing. His eyes are wide, astonished and shocked at the possibility of having a birthday. His dad never lets him celebrate anymore. Mommy always let him help bake his cake and open a present the day before his birthday.

‘Your daddy is an idiot boy. We make you a cake and we are celebrating.’ Sam claps excitedly, breakfast forgotten as he babbles.

Dean flings his arms around Bobby, mumbling into his shirt. ‘Can we make the chocolate cake?’

Chuckling and ruffling his hair, he says ‘Of course boy.’ Dean hops happily, pulling the magazine away from Sam to show Bobby.

\----------------------------------------

After the cake has been made and Sammy cleaned up, Bobby tells Dean he should have a bath too. He has chocolate smeared over his cheek and flour in his hair from where Sam wanted to play with it.

He steps over the lip of the off-white tub, water resting just below his waist. He plays with the toy boat, making it dive under the water and splash back up, grabbing the bar of soap he pretends it is a shark chasing after the ship.

The water is starting to cool down as Dean stops playing with the boat, his fingers wrinkled. He counts the freckles on his belly, doting each one with a drop of shower gel. He rubs the pink gel into his skin, laughing as it tickles, popping the bubbles with chubby fingers.

Reaching up to wash his hair the tattoo catches his eye. The colours are still swirling but two more letters have appeared. He drops the shampoo into the bath with a splash too absorbed to care about it. He traces his fingers over the writing, carefully memorising the curve and slope of the letters.

He spells out the letters, finding he likes the way they roll of his tongue. Dean giggles, his stomach feeling fluttery.

Dean stays in the tub, sounding out the name, repeating it in quiet whispers to himself until Bobby comes knocking.

\----------------------------------------

Dean is 23 and lonely when he meets Cassie.

He hopes she is his soulmate. She is beautiful and wild, her skin dark and eyes gold flecked with possibility. She wears a blue shirt. She doesn’t have a name yet. Dean kisses her under the flashing lights of his motel, inviting her to his room.

She stays for two months and Dean buys a ring. He loves her, he loves her more than life itself but it doesn’t feel quite right. Sam had described meeting Jess, loving Jess, as an eclipse. Bobby described Karen as the sun. Cassie feels like the moon, she is just as mysterious, beautiful and untouchable like the moon.

He asks her to marry him on a winter’s night, the moon lighting her face, making her cheekbones look sharp and her eyes black. She shakes her head, leaving him alone with a ring and an apology. His name was never on her but he had hoped that one day it would appear.

\----------------------------------

Nearly 30 and without a soulmate Dean has become somewhat of a pariah. People aren’t keen to mix with a fully grown adult without a partner. He has been told he is broken and unfixable. Dean has always felt alone, always known he was broken but hearing it from the lips of people he once called friend stung harder than knowing he might never find his soulmate. 

He sometimes wonders if this ‘Cas’ is even real.

Rain beats hard on the ground; the heavens opening as Dean makes a mad dash towards the closest store. He flings back the door, hurriedly escaping the sudden downpour. Throwing back his hood after shaking off the water from his coat, he notices that he has entered a pet store.

It is small, modest really with blue walls lined with toys and cages. He watches the fish for a few seconds, happily swimming in their tanks. The bubbling filters down out a soft beat coming from the front counter.

He looks around finding the place apparently devoid of human life. Dean feels a little awkward. He doesn’t have a pet, he never had one except for a stray cat he fed for a few years before she disappeared. Her eyes were the same colour as his tattoo. For a while he joked that she was his soul mate, he had named her Cassius and made her a bed out of a wooden box and an old pillow.

Dean wonders forward, boots squeaking on the floor. He hears the shuffling of little furry feet, the smell of hay assaults his nose making him sneeze.

‘Bless you.’ A voice says causing Dean to jump three feet in the air. His heart races as he spins around to find a man standing behind him, he stands a little too close but has a crooked smile on his lips and two guinea pigs in his arms. He apologises with a guilty smile, brushing past Dean to put the guinea pigs back in their hutch.

He watches as the dark haired man lays his arms down, letting the guinea pigs walk off his hands and tenderly into the cage, he whispers to them, gently brushing a long finger over the top of their little heads.

‘Can I help you?’ He asks, clicking the cage shut, wiggling his finger through the bars.

‘I came in to escape the rain,’ He admits, blushing slightly ‘I don’t even have a pet.’

The man huffs in what Dean thinks is supposed to be a laugh. He can’t help but notice how attractive this man is. He is a little shorter than Dean, with dark tousled hair and a slight tan. His lips curve in a perfect cupid’s bow, they look chapped and plump. Dean entertains the thought of what they would feel like against his.

His eyes are blue, Dean wants to compare them to ocean blues but he knows they are the same blue as his tattoo. Under his sleeve the colours still swirl, doubt floods through him as the man asks him if he would like to stay until the rain dies down. He finds himself nodding with the promise of hot coffee too good to resist.


End file.
